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Greece’s new plan: QR Code with timer to limit shopping time in lockdown

The Greek government is planning an application to limit the time citizens are out of their homes and spend in shopping. The app QR Code is thought as another “creative”  – but practically inapplicable – measure aiming to limit the spread of Covid-19.

According to a model presented by ANT1 TV on Monday morning, the app will have a QR Code that will be activated and will have a ‘time-clock” for the period of 4 consecutive hours.

When activated, the user will no be able neither to change the time nor stop it. The timer will just count down for hour hours.

Once download the QR Code will notify:

“This QR Code is valid for 4 consecutive hours per day, it is mandatory to enter stores and you must show it to controllers if requested.”

The Code would be available e-katanalotis -“e-consumer.”

The genius minds in the Digital Governance came up with this idea when shops opened last week, thousands of Greeks rushed for shopping after 2.5 months of lockdown and crowded on the streets outside the stores increasing the risk of the virus spreading.

However, this was not the only problem. The government had put a time limit of 2 hours for shopping. That was difficult to impossible given the queues outside stores, and that not everyone lives close to an urban shopping area.

What did many Greeks do? Once the 2-hour time on SMS for exit from home was up, they sent another sms and extended their time for shopping.

In the many controls on Saturday and Sunday, police officers asked in addition the receipts from the purchases and doubled checked the time a consumer was out. In several cases they issued fines of 300 euros.

And there came the QR Code as an additional control measure.

Too bad, though, that the whole idea encounters difficulties with “personal data” of consumers and they are stored.

Data sent per SMS to 13033 are not stored.

Not to mention the fact that many Greeks leave their homes with hand-written notes, and that not only “seniors” would have difficulties to download and use such an app and the relevant code.

Digital Governance Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis told media that “there could be other systems to limit time of the SMS to exit home” adding that he was in contact with Development Minister.

According to latest media information there are thoughts for an alternative like SMS with option <2> and a link sent to sender when he can connect to a timer. This can be activated and count down for 2 or 3 hours.

Activation will be allowed once per day.

Note: This is questionable as well as option <2> on SMS is also valid for hair- and beauty saloons and every woman knows  a full pack (hair cut, dye, form etc) cannot conclude in 2 or 3 hours.

And the genius minds already consider that “seniors” will fill up a “special form” with the allowed times/hours for shopping.

All this waste of brain cells for the total control occurs while the only lockdown restrictions now in force are: the night curfew 9 pm – 5 am, the SMS to exit home and the ban to travel from region to region. The latter is most likely to be lifted next week, when gymnasiums and lyceums and gambling stores open on February 1 and there are plans to open also ski resorts.

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12 comments

  1. Your cat is wise, as cats always are! This sounds completely ridicoulous! The money spent on this s… could be used better. Or is it just to “feed” a computer program company????

  2. These people need to be detained in a psychiatric clinic: they are not mentally competent. The same goes for the UK government and its committees of non-expert “experts” who clearly understand nothing of the real world and very little of medicine too.

  3. Just another excuse for this corrupt administration to give a contract to their buddy’s app development company.

  4. What a brain dead idea!
    So going to the bakery in the morning would prevent us from going to the butcher in the afternoon?
    I guess those people need a serious reality check.

  5. “PS My cat commented on these plans with words I would blush to write down here.”

    I won’t blush.

    BullShxx

  6. Is corona invented by Samsung or Corona? Is really everyone oblige to have a smartphone???

  7. It seems to me that these braindead experts have nothing better to do than think up crackpot ideas! This tripe is adding to the confusion and if they chose to look around at what is happening they might realise that there will be a social kickback as in Holland at the moment.

  8. In fairness they do not know how to keep millions of people away from each other and they are clutching at straws,its a hopeless mission and before we tear them them apart we must imagine how we ourselves would control this situation if we had to.To control,protect and please them all and the economy at the same time is an impossible task that none of us would want.Most of the population are like children who do not understand or want to understand danger and risk because its not happening to them and they believe it never will,we pray it remains so but given the evidence and the loss of life in this catastrophic pandemic lets have a little more empathy for governments who actually are managing this on a day-by-day basis and sometimes get it wrong.Would I get it wrong,would you,would we?…yes…

    • Stop pushing internalisation of the guilt…. The authorities do that well enough already….sycophants and paid stooges are neither required…nor wanted… Say NO!! to the Nanny State.

      • Dan,you sound rather authoritarian,autocratic,so are you any better than them?

      • There would be less of a nanny state if people simply used their common sense and did what was suggested by health authorities. These “measures” are applied and suggested BECAUSE we cannot do that.

        Here where I am in Toronto, we have been urged to stay home. And yet I am in my empty classroom in school because I do not have a blackboard, or a data projector, or props (that I use in my ESL class) at home. I am also here because 3 other people are on their computers at home doing work/school. I cannot expect them to be quiet for the 5 hours a day I am teaching. Am I essential? Not under the government definition. Can I go to the school? Yes, under my school board definition.

        Regardless, almost every picture that I see in ANY media shows that people are NOT wearing their masks properly. If we cannot even do that, well…. big brother will be watching us.

  9. I don’t have a mobile phone, so that’s me well and truly f****d.